CAGED System vs. Pentatonic Scales

I’m hoping by now you’ve read Ivan’s great post about the history and importance of flatpicking. Though a seasoned musician, it’s a relatively new topic to me and one I’ve been looking at a lot lately. Recently, while hoping to improve my acoustic and bluegrass guitar soloing chops, I searched around for some tips on scales and chord shapes to use. In doing so, I found such a travesty of misguided music theory and wildly unmusical thinking, I just had to share.

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But He Don't Sound British – Accents and Singing

Ah music, the international language. It transcends political and economic boundaries, it harkens on universal themes, and does a lot of other things someone who describes themselves as #blessed would say. All feel-good melting pot analogies aside, have you noticed that music actually does manage to nullify one huge indicator of our backgrounds? That’s right, nearly everyone sings without an accent. Why is it that you don’t realize a singer hails from the UK until you hear them speak instead of sing into the microphone?

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The Diphthong Song

those-who-dig-logo-finalThis is about the diphthong song. Depending on your knowledge of grammar and/or lingerie, that’s either a very sexy or very confusing title. Or both. The song I have in mind is now 4 decades old, started as a country tune, but received a huge lift half-way through its lifespan and became one of the biggest singles of all time. Read more…